Tag Archives: Virginia Military Institute

Lewis Burwell “Chesty” Puller was born on June 26, 1898 in West Point, Virginia. His father was a grocer who died when Chesty was 10 years old. He grew up listening to old veterans’ tales of the Civil War and idolizing Stonewall Jackson. He wanted to enlist in the Army to fight in the Border War with Mexico in 1916, but he was too young and his mother wouldn’t give parental consent.

He never saw action in World War I, but the Marine Corps was expanding, and after graduating from recruit training he attended non-commissioned officer school and Officer Candidates School (OCS) at Quantico, Virginia. He graduated from OCS on June 16, 1919 and was appointed a second lieutenant in the reserves. With the end of WWI, the Corps experienced a quick reduction in force from 73,000 Marines to 28,500 Marines (only 1,100 officers and 27,400 enlisted). Chesty was put on inactive status and given the rank of corporal.

Soon after, Corporal Puller received orders to serve in Haiti. While the United States was working under a treaty with Haiti, he participated in over forty engagements during the next five years against the Caco rebels and attempted to regain his commission as an officer twice. During his time in Haiti, in 1922, he served as an adjutant to Major Alexander Vandegrift.

In December 1928, Puller was assigned to the NicaraguanNational Guard detachment, where he was awarded his first Navy Cross for actions from February 16 to August 19, 1930, when he led “five successive engagements against superior numbers of armed bandit forces.” He returned stateside in July 1931 and completed the year-long Company Officers Course at Fort Benning, Georgia. He then returned to Nicaragua from September 20 to October 1, 1932, and was awarded a second Navy Cross. Chesty led American Marines and Nicaraguan National Guardsmen into battle against Sandinista rebels in the Sandino Rebellion near El Sauce on December 26, 1932.

Soon after arriving on Guadalcanal, Chesty led his battalion in a fierce action along the Matanikau, in which his quick thinking saved three of his companies from annihilation. The three companies were surrounded and cut off by a larger Japanese force. Chesty ran to the shore, signaled the USS Ballard (DD-267), and then directed the Ballard to provide fire support while landing craft rescued his Marines. U.S. Coast Guard Signalman First Class Douglas Albert Munro was the Officer-in-Charge of the group of landing craft and was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions. To date Munro is the only Coast Guardsman to receive the decoration. Chesty was awarded the Bronze Star with Combat “V”.

Later on Guadalcanal, Chesty was awarded his third Navy Cross, in what was later known as the “Battle for Henderson Field“. He commanded 1st Battalion 7th Marines (1/7), one of two American infantry units defending the airfield against a regiment sized Japanese force. The 3rd Battalion of the U.S. Army’s 164th Infantry Regiment (3/164) fought alongside the Marines. In a firefight on the night of October 24–25, 1942, lasting about three hours, 1/7 and 3/164 sustained 70 casualties; the Japanese force suffered over 1,400 killed in action, and the Americans held the airfield. He nominated two of his men (one being Sgt. John Basilone) for Medals of Honor. He was wounded himself on November 9, 1942.

At the outbreak of the Korean War, Chesty was again assigned as commander of the First Marine Regiment. He participated in the landing at Inchon on September 15, 1950, and was awarded the Silver Star Medal and was awarded his second Legion of Merit for his leadership from September 15 through November 2. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross from the U.S. Army for heroism in action from November 29 to December 4, and he was awarded his fifth Navy Cross for heroism during December 5–10, 1950, at the Battle of Chosin Reservoir. It was during that battle that he said the famous line, “We’ve been looking for the enemy for some time now. We’ve finally found him. We’re surrounded. That simplifies things.”

Chesty passed away on October 11, 1971 at the age of 73, in Hampton, Virginia. He was an Episcopalian and parishioner of Christ Church Parish and is buried in the historic cemetery next to his wife Virginia Montague Evans, who passed away in 2006, at the age of 97.